Why It’s Important To Have Your Own System For Balance in life

A colleague asked everyone at lunch what each of us does for balance. I shared some things I do which inspired me to write this post. Over the years, I have figured out how to keep balance. Working a full-time job and parenting can sometimes get overwhelming. So I came up with a system for myself to keep me going. I want to share with some of you here, hoping some of it resonates with you.

My system to find balance in life is mainly broken down into three areas: Training the mind, training the body, and fueling my soul!

Training The Mind

To keep a balance between everything happening at work and your personal life, I found it extremely valuable when we train ourselves on how to process everything. To learn to respond to situations instead of reacting. To accept that life is constantly changing. To Focus on the here and the now. All of this had me turn to Training the Mind. In other words, meditation. 

I started with the Headspace app since it was easy for a beginner. I regularly come back to the blue sky analogy of viewing thoughts as clouds and that some days the clouds are too many and other days few. Starting the day with 15 minutes of meditation keeps me going for a long time. Although it took a while for it to become a daily habit, I am glad that it’s finally become part of my routine.

Training The Body

The next is Training the Body. We have all read about the benefits of exercise. Luckily, exercise is fun, and I enjoy putting effort into something and seeing results. Until recently, I had done this a few times a week, and mostly on days I feel less stressed, even though exercise is supposed to reduce stress! During the pandemic, I challenged myself to change my attitude toward working out. My goal now is to exercise every day. Some days it’s high intensity, some days, it’s running, and other days it’s strength training. It’s the variety that keeps it interesting. Since I am an early riser, it helps to get this box checked first thing in the morning. Thirty minutes of sweating it out left me energized for the whole day!

Fueling The Soul

In addition to meditation and exercise, I also needed other things to keep me inspired. I call this Fueling the Soul. There are days you need an extra pick-me-up, which is when this area helps! Fueling my soul, for me, comes from a variety of sources. I use the Goodreads app to track all the books I want to read and am currently reading. The topics range from spiritual awareness to autobiographies, leadership, and many more. These inspire and push you to be a better version of yourself. Listening to interviews of inspiring leaders also falls into this category. Some days this is usually achieved by calling an old friend!

There are days when you need more than your daily routine to keep things going. Sometimes this is a therapist, life coach, or personal trainer, depending on the need. Finding what works for you is like trial and error. When you find your way to maintain balance in life, it’s your secret weapon you can use to navigate life. Do you have a system for creating balance in life? I hope you can share your wisdom so we can learn from each other.